9 Responses

Dear Kathleen,
Martha and Thomas are my 7th great grandparents, thru Richard and his daughter Hannah. I have read your books The Heretic’s Daughter and The Traitors Wife. I knew before I read the books of my relationship to Thomas and Martha but reading the books helped me fall in love with them. As I am pondering my family that has passed on the Memorial weekend my heart is with them. Thank you for giving this unbelievable gift to me. I was so sad to hear I had missed the reunion. If you ever do another one I would love to honor my family by going.
Much love and appreciation
Geannie Woolsey

Cynthia,
I also have done my DNA testing and have a tree on ancestry. My tree is Woolsey. (my married name).

Dear Geannie: So sorry I’m late in responding. I have not checked my website in a while–I’ve been busy finishing my next book. I’m always thrilled to be contacted by fellow Carrier descendants and happy to hear that you loved Heretic’s Daughter and Traitor’s Wife. I will certainly let you know if there will be another Carrier reunion. It was a remarkable weekend, and one I will never forget. We came together as strangers and parted as family. With best regards, Kathleen P.S. My family is descended from Richard’s brother, Tom.

I have been trying to locate the identity of my biological father on ancestry.com. In doing so, I stumbled across your name as I believe I am a tenth generation descendent of Martha Allen through her son Richard. The problem is that I need to confirm this so had the DNA testing done. I was able to find one DNA matchup so far that has this line of Carriers that are also on my fathers family tree, however not been able to find a second match, either because the person I share genealogy with doesn’t have a tree, has a very limited tree or no family tree at all. I was wondering if you or someone you know could assist in that regard. I have ordered the novel about Martha from Amazon. Intriguing family. I was born in upstate New York, but grew up in SE Connecticut and now like ve in MA, so all the places will be familiar to me. Thanks for any info you could offer. I just want to confirm my conclusions concerning my dads identity. He died at 29. Cindy

Dear Cynthia: Thank you for writing to me. I’ve never had DNA testing done because we had a very clear family tree back to Martha and Thomas Carrier, through their son Tom. I believe that Ancestry.com can facilitate the testing and then match you up with other Carriers of that line. Many of the descendants of Thomas and Martha settled into upstate NY from Connecticut, so there’s a good chance that we are in cousins. Good luck with your search—genealogy is always a little bit like treasure hunting. You’re never sure what you’re going to find. Best regards, KK

I have just taken a real interest in Martha Carrier. I am from and live in Washington state and had to fly to Boston (12/3/14) for a business trip and took the time to ride the train to Salem for a visit. A tour guide there even gave me the title to your book which I just bought. My question is now to you, how are you a direct decent of Martha? She is my 12 or 13 times great grandmother from my mother’s father’s side. My mother’s father’s mother was named Margaret Carrier. My grandfather is from Watertown, New York and he moved to Oregon and Washington state in the 1950s, (where all my family is currently from and live) married, had 2 children, and later in life moved back to New York until his death. I am near positive that my Grandfather had some of Martha’s documents, but there is really no way I can see them. I am curious how I am connected somehow with you, if that doesn’t sound too crazy. Sincerely, Lenah

Dear Lenah: Thank you for writing to me! I’m always thrilled to hear from fellow descendants of Thomas and Martha Carrier. I am a 10 th generation descendant through Martha’s son Tom. I had grown up hearing stories from my maternal grandparents about the Salem witch trials and the Carrier family, and spent 5 years researching and writing The Heretic’s Daughter. It’s so nice to hear, also, that the good folks at Salem are supporting my work. If you go to my website, I’ve posted more photos and information about my research. http://www.kathleenkent.com The Carrier clan is all over the U.S. and Canada now and in 2011, when my second book The Wolves of Andover, was published 250 Carriers gathered for a weekend in Salem to pay homage to Thomas and Martha. It was an amazing experience to meet so many Carriers. Best regards, KK

I would like to be able to reach Kathleen Kent. My cousin sent me an article from USA today quite some time ago and I found it fascinating. I also have a history of my grandmother (9 generations back) being hung as a witch in Salem, along with 2 of her sisters. Her name was Mary Towne Estey. Please write to me so that I can share my notes with you. Thank you for your time and consideration. Cheers – Beth Kelly

Dear Beth, thank you so much for writing. I’m always especially thrilled to hear from descendants of those men and women who were involved in the Salem witch trials. Mary Towne Estey was a prominent figure in the trials, and it was so tragic that she and her extended family became caught up in the hysteria. I hope that you will want to explore my novel, The Heretic’s Daughter, which chronicles the life of my nine times great grandmother, Martha Carrier. My direct email address is hereticsdaughter@yahoo.com if you’d like to send any notes from your family research. It is truly one of the most fascinating periods in Colonial history. Best regards, Kathleen

Hi Kathleen-
This is your Plano Book Club friend who did the portrait–congrats on your latest book!
Looks like you are one busy lady –I know this is way in the future–I’m talking about November 11, 2014–is that too far in advance to try and set up a neighborhood book club meeting with you? If so, can you give me a general idea of when you’d be available in the Plano area in 2014. My book club is looking forward to seeing you again and listening spellbound to your new story.
Wishing you the very best,
Eve Anderson